New Mexico has a bitter gambling past. When the IGRA was signed by Congress in 1989, it seemed like New Mexico might be one of the states to get on the American Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King appointed a working group in 1990 to negotiate a compact with New Mexico American Indian bands. When the panel arrived at an accord with two prominent local bands a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He held up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it appeared that Native wagering in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the contract with the American Indian tribes, anti-wagering groups were able to hold the contract up in the courts. A New Mexico court ruled that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the accord, thereby denying the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing revenues over the next several years.
It required the Compact Negotiation Act, passed by the New Mexico legislature, to get the process moving on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian bands. Ten years had been squandered for gambling in New Mexico, including Native casino Bingo.
The non-profit Bingo industry has grown since Nineteen Ninety-Nine. That year, New Mexico non-profit game providers acquired just $3,048 in revenues. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and exceeded a million dollars in 2001. Nonprofit Bingo earnings have grown constantly since that time. Two Thousand and Five saw the biggest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is clearly favored in New Mexico. All sorts of owners look for a slice of the action. With hope, the politicians are through batting around gambling as a key issue like they did back in the 90’s. That’s without doubt hopeful thinking.